Examining the Impact of Teething on Infant Sleep: A Study of Auto-Videosomnography Measurements

The study aimed to investigate the association between teething and infant sleep using objective sleep data.

The study included 849 infants aged 3 to 18 months from the US and Canada were observed through auto-videosomnography over four weeks, which analyzed footage from crib cameras. Parents reported when their infants' teeth erupted, along with any symptoms and treatments. Sleep metrics, such as total sleep time, night awakenings, and parental visits to the crib, were contrasted on teething versus non-teething nights using statistical analysis.

The outcomes of the study revealed:

No significant differences were observed in sleep patterns between teething and nonteething nights.
Despite more than half of the parents reporting sleep disturbances during teething, these subjective observations were not supported by the objective data collected.

In conclusion, the study challenges the common belief that teething negatively impacts sleep and suggest that pediatric healthcare providers should explore other causes for sleep issues in infants. By providing parents with evidence-based information, it may be possible to prevent the use of potentially harmful treatments for teething, such as excessive analgesics. Future research should further investigate these relationships with a broader range of objective measures and more diverse populations.

Source: Kahn M, Lucchini M, Oster E, Thakur S, Waugh M, Barnett N. Does Teething Disrupt Infant Sleep? A Longitudinal Auto-Videosomnography Study. J Pediatr. 2025 Jan 7;279:114461. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114461. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39788183.

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